Heart of Fire Preview: Preliminary Feature List

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With this article we’re officially kicking off the Heart of Fire coverage on Neverwinter Uncensored! Now that the new module is on preview, players have a better understanding of what the humorous update looks like. So let’s go through the features we know so far and get that hype train going!

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Acquisitions Incorporated Campaign

The big thing about the Heart of Fire is bringing the tremendously popular Acquisitions Incorporated to Neverwinter. In his Q&A with Nova, Thomas said how valuable these collaborations are for the game and we couldn’t agree more. One of the big accomplishments of our current Lead Designer definitely is growing the brand. And Acq Inc in the Protector’s Enclave is a major example.

But it’s not only bringing the lore and humor of Penny Arcade to the game, because Module 15 of course will feature a full campaign with a completely new set of boons and quests. The campaign surely won’t take itself too seriously, but there’s still some grind involved. Thomas said they hope this will become their “musical episode” and that it brings classic D&D to Neverwinter. In case you’re interested by the way, Cryptic did an interview with Amy Falcone, who reveals a little background and information on her character “Walnut” that’s part of the story.

The “K-Team” Challenge

The campaign will eventually lead to something that’s called the “K-Team” challenge (a reference to the “C-Team”, a spin-off of the original Acquisitions Incorporated show). It’ll be a new way to experience and play dungeons. Thomas described it as “hardcore” mode in which teams only get one life. So if anybody dies, you have to redo the whole dungeon. That’s certainly… interesting. It seems like this “hardcore” challenge is already in the queue menu on preview, but we’ll have to wait and see what rewards are attached to it.

As it stands, it only doubles the AD you get for running dungeons, which doesn’t seem quite enough to get players to do it. From the sound of it the “K-Team” challenge could end up being a weekly and hand out an unique enchantment. Obviously the rewards will ultimately define whether or not this will become a thing.

As you may know I also have been a little worried about the lack of content in this module, but the “K-Team” (and the “Tales of Old, see below) challenge definitely could turn into something that’s filling the void.

Class Balance Changes

Theorycrafters rejoice, because the current meta will be no longer! The Heart of Fire features the most balance changes the game has seen for a while! What could possibly go wrong, right? It’s going to take a while to process and test all of the changes, which will make Module 15 largely about retooling characters and finding the best synergies again. Judged by the answers in the official feedback threads, the two hottest topics are definitely TRs and and the end of the two DC meta (DO DCs getting nerfed). Other classes received quite an overhaul as well though and the full impact is surely not yet known.

Manycoins Bank Heist Skirmish

I haven’t been able to get into the new skirmish (thanks Huntgate!), so all I can say is that there is one! Other players thankfully already have taken a look and uploaded videos. So just watch them to get an overall impression!

Salvage Removal, Dungeon Key Changes

One topic we’ve already talked about around here are the changes to the RAD economy, more specifically to Salvage. Some people are not ready yet to call it a nerf, but the way you’ll earn Rough Astral Diamonds will definitely change by a lot. You won’t be able to salvage gear for RAD any longer, but instead dungeons will hand out RAD directly as completion bonus. Normal dungeon chests are for free now, and existing keys will be transferred to tokens with which you can re-roll chest contents. The second chest remains untouched and still can only be opened with the corresponding campaign or keys.

The new system has some advantages. By separating gear and AD progression, the devs no longer have to worry as much whether including gear in loot tables might have an impact on the economy. The new system is also a pretty severe QoL upgrade for non-VIP players, who now always get at least one chest per dungeon run. Veterans however might experience a pretty significant drop in RAD income, depending on how much Salvage they farmed per day.

Tales of Old

Tales of Old will be the second new way to run dungeons in Module 15. It’s a new event series that brings back old dungeons in a competitive PVE mode. Based on the images below, the first set of dungeons will be Frozen Heart, Dread Vault, Lair of the Mad Dragon, and Throne of Idris. For most players this will probably be brand-new content as they haven’t been around for too long. Longtime players in the meantime are going to take a trip down memory lane.

The event will however not only bring back the old content, but pair it with a competitive PVE mode. It might be some sort of crossover between Mythic+ and the Neverwinter Combat League. Each event will be tied to a “season” with a special rewards vendor. The Tales of Old is a timed challenge in which you have to complete a dungeon as many times as possible. With each completion the content gets a little harder and the group additionally has to collect so-called “power-ups” that extend the time or add lives. Just rushing through won’t be the best way to do it. Instead groups have to explore side areas to grab those “power-ups”.

This event looks really promising and could be the “dungeon content” many have been waiting for. I personally am very much looking forward to it.

Professions Rework

Another key change of the module is the restructure of Professions into a new Workshop system. It’s a major overhaul that aims at making the system less tedious and more immersive. You’ll still have to manage Artisans (Craftsmen), but the reward structure and the way recipes are completed changes drastically. I haven’t been able to look at the system in-depth yet. So just like the skirmish, here are two excellent (and lengthy) videos that preview the system! Have fun with it!

Which features do you like the most? Which feature do you feel are missing? Share your thoughts on our social channels, in the comments below, or visit our message board!

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j0Shi

j0Shi plays the Neverwinter MMORPG since the open BETA in 2013 and is a regular contributor to the blog and the whole UN:Project. Originally a Guardian Fighter, he has built up ALTs of all classes and plays on BIS/near-BIS level.

10 thoughts on “Heart of Fire Preview: Preliminary Feature List”

I have played the content on preview and find it irritating. The boons look OK so I will probably play it on all alts and have found it is more bearable with the sound off. Which is OK as I usually play with the sound off anyway. I have not done the heist but the youtube videos show reasonable rewards so I will probably try that though I dare say it will take players at my level a lot longer to complete. As far as professions go I guess it depends what your definition of tedious is. It is a lot more work at set up. Whether it is more work overall may depend on whether they stick with the current number of slots or increase them. Whether the work is worth it depends on what can be crafted and preview does not yet have the higher end rewards as far as I can see and according to the feedback thread both slots and rewards are still under discussion.

“who?” was only the most-negative answer possible on the poll, not an accurate reflection of my opinion.

I know exactly who “Acquisitions Incorporated” are, and fuck them, they should not be part of Neverwinter and their presence makes the game worse, and bringing in their fans is a *bad thing* since their fans are awful goddamn people.

“Team Dickwolf” should be left on the trash heap, forever.

(Having said that, I do like the challenge modes of dungeons and OMG THRONE OF IDRIS FINALLY)

I’ve genuinely never heard of them, despite being a major AD&D fan since the late ’70s. But if they are just a bunch of Streamers and Twitchers, their characters are not actually part of official Forgotten Realms Lore, unlike Minsc and Elminster. So I’d agree, they should not be part of Neverwinter any more than a bunch of my characters and my friend’s characters.

This reminds me of when Zebutard made an entry for his own CW character on the NW Wiki, and people kept removing it because Zubutard “Well Met” Twatarse was not an actual part of FR Lore.

But Throne of Idris is back? Than Ao for that! Is it still part of the main quest line? I still get new players asking me to help them find their way in to her castle, not realising that the entrance is simply blocked off.

Veterans however might experience a pretty significant drop in RAD income, depending on how much Salvage they farmed per day. This, But I more concern that everything wich come from till now will have no price. UES, artifacts etc. If you can loot 10 times druing *2 event in Craddle imagine the ues prices. I know that it can be crafted from professions I just made an example of it.

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